Sanctuary in the void
by forthary
Summary: Ashley and Shepard find not only time, but also enjoyment and romance for each other while the Normandy has some downtime during the reaper invasion. Rated M for multiple scenes of sex, romance, and the occasional bout of language. Highly recommended for Ashmancers and even those who see Ashley as a friend.
1. Arrangements of emotion

_A kiss makes the heart young again and wipes out the years. ~ Rupert Brooke_

After two days passed from the moment Shepard and Ashley shared a kiss at Apollo's Café, an opportunity arose that they could not ignore. The Normandy SR-2 was drifting in space, performing reconnaissance for the migrant fleet to plan their attack on the geth occupying Rannoch. Almost all of the maintenance work and calibrations were done while the Normandy was at the citadel two days ago, so the best thing that could be done was to wait while EDI gathered intel on the planet, and hope not to be hit by geth or quarian crossfire. With all this extra downtime, people turned to other things so that time would pass.

It all started with a visit to the captain's cabin. Ashley wanted to break the monotony of waiting around, so she took the elevator to the captain's cabin to see Shepard. Before she could even knock, the door leading to the cabin automatically opened for her, and as she walked in, she saw Shepard looking over several tablets worth of boring data. What surprised her was that Shepard was just in his N7 Boxers, although a set of clothes were on the floor next to his office chair.

"Hey!" Ashley stated, "You must be expecting company. I hope it was me and nobody else with how you're dressed."

Shepard dropped his tablet on the table and looked over to Ashley.

"Naw, I was hoping Wrex would say hi." Ashley was taken aback. "Heh, no, I was actually hoping you'd show up." Ashley was then relieved. "If I actually finished reading who cleaned the toilets…"

"Too much information there, skipper."

"How are you holding up?"

Ashley moved closer to Shepard and sighed, "Bored, just like everyone else here. I've had nothing better to do but clean my gear and stare out into space. So, Shepard, I really got to know: Are we going somewhere or not?"

Shepard moved closer to Ashley and gently took her right hand into his left hand.

"Ash…I wouldn't want to save the galaxy without you by my side. I need you. I love you. I couldn't even do this without you." Ashley's eyes began to water as Shepard's words comforted her mind and heart. "We're here now, with each other, and there's no way I would leave you behind again. I'll go anywhere with you. Will you go with me?"

Ashley's voice began to break up as she said, "Just…" but then was interrupted as Shepard and Ashley knew what they wanted from each other. Shepard and Ashley embraced and kissed each other with passionate love, and for one whole minute, they were oblivious to everything around them; the galaxy, the war with the reapers, their surroundings, all of it was lost to love. A tear seeped out from both of Ashley's eyes, but it was the good kind, the kind that says 'I'm mutually loved'. Memories of her flashed through Shepard's mind, reminding him of some of the countless good times they shared in a galaxy full of danger. When their lips parted from their faces, reality came to their senses, and Shepard asked,

"Will you stay here with me? Until duty calls?"

"Yes, sir." Ashley responded in a romantic tone. At that point, they both knew what they wanted: a roll in the haystack. Shepard walked towards the bed, with Ashley following suit and taking pieces of her armor off as she walked with him.

"They made the bed harder when they built the new Normandy, you won't be looking for a hard spot to lay on like you did last time."

Ashley made a noise with her lips and said, "Oh, please. You were the one having issues with the bed, not me."

As Ashley finally stripped off the last piece of her armor, Shepard commanded, "Get over here!" and Ashley pounced him onto his back as they began to have sex. What started as intense kissing worked to clothes-stripping, and then both of them exchanged favors, with Ashley getting a boob job, a good old-fashioned fuck, a facial, and even getting her toes sucked at one point. In the hour that they shared passionate, hot sex with each other, Ashley climaxed four times while Shepard climaxed twice. As usual, Ashley and Shepard flung both passionate and teasing comments towards each other, although this time, it was mostly passionate. On Ashley's fourth climax, they decided to cool down and eventually both of them took a three-hour nap, with Shepard spooning Ashley.


	2. Sundown

Ashley slowly woke up under the covers, still being cradled in Shepard's arms, yet free to use her omni-tool. She checked on the usual stuff: News, messages, notes from family, exc. and noticed she got a message from Admiral Anderson. Upon opening it, the message read,

 _Spectre Williams,_

 _Admiral Hackett told me about what happened on the citadel and also about your status as a spectre. That goddamn Udina had it coming, and im glad Shepard was there to give him what he deserved in the first place. I wish I could congratulate you in person like I did Shepard when he became a spectre, but the men and women I lead on earth need me. I also heard about your request to stay onboard the Normandy, and I managed to convince Admiral Hackett that it was a sound decision. Shepard needs as many allies as he can recruit in this war, and I know you can help him, that's why I wanted you to accompany him onboard the Normandy._

 _Keep Shepard alive and well. That's an order! We both know that if Shepard falls, or loses his will to fight, the reapers will win, and all of us might as well drop dead. Don't worry about your conduct with Shepard either; we knew about it back when you served with him aboard the SR-1, and the alliance decided not to do anything about it because of his spectre status. We also got word of it during and after your stay at the hospital; we're not spying on you, we're making sure you can do what's right for Shepard without us getting in your way. Shepard's heart and mind has already forged powerful alliances, but we still need more if we're going to stance a chance to win, and I want you to help him in any way you can._

 _My hands are tied here on Earth, but if there's anything I can do for you and Shepard, all you need to do is ask. Keep fighting the good fight, spectre Williams._

\- _Admiral Anderson_

Ashley's heart warmed up after reading this letter and while she was slightly disappointed the alliance knew about their relationship, she was also happy they chose not to get in her way and to encourage her to continue supporting Shepard. She powered off her omni-tool and turned to face Shepard, who opened his eyes slowly after she looked at him for a few moments.

"Hey," Ashley stated. "Sleep well?"

"I did. It reminds me of…"

"Ilos. And all that time we spent after. I never thought about it until now. Damn, it felt so good. And it still does."

"I could use another nap."

"Aye aye, commander. Permission to command the deck?"

"Permission granted." And with that, Shepard turned to his side so that Ashley could spoon him, and they spent another two hours taking a nap. During this nap, Shepard had a weird but pleasant dream. Shepard and Ashley were together on different worlds; he didn't recognize where he was, just different places on different planets. Then, Shepard appeared in space with Ashley. Ashley turned around to him, whispered, "I love you," and faintly kissed his right check. The dream faded to black, and Shepard slowly woke up.

As Shepard looked around the room, his stomach rumbled. He was hungry after all the love he and Ashley shared, and wanted something to eat. As he was thinking about a way to sneak out of Ashley's spoon, Ashley stirred at Shepard's rumbling and decided it was best to simply talk his way through it,

"Morning Ash. Sleep well?"

"Sure did. Nothing but the best."

"Im feeling a bit peckish. Want me to fix you something?"

"Sure. Nothing fancy, maybe some noodles or something?"

"Coming right up." Ashley then loosened her spoon on Shepard, allowing him to get up, put on his boxers and make a packet of noodles for both himself and Ash. As he was waiting for the noodles to cook, Ash got up, put on her bra and thong, and sat on the couch. The couch was much more relaxing than anything on the SR-1, allowing her to stretch out and relax, with her right arm on top of the sofa and her leg crossed. When she looked down at the coffee table, she caught her eye on the glasses sitting perfectly still on the table. Her tongue suddenly wanted to taste some sweet, fine alcohol, and asked Shepard,

"You got some alcohol to drink, hero-man?"

"Look under the coffee table. Pour me some of that, uh, that green stuff."

Ashley looked under the coffee table and quickly found a bottle of green alcohol, mostly full, in the front of his collection of drinks. She pulled it out, held it up, read the label and asked, "This? You mean Aldebaran whiskey?"

"That's the one!"

"Wow Shepard, never knew you to be a whiskey drinker. I'll have a glass of it myself, see how your taste compares to mine."

As Ashley poured a drink for her and Shepard, Shepard stated, "Don't start without me!" At that moment, Shepard and Ashley's noodles were done cooking, so he pulled them out of the microwave, got what he needed, and sat down with Ashley. At that point, Shepard realized this would be the perfect opportunity to have a toast, and Shepard asked,

"We haven't had a toast in a long time. Got any ideas?"

"Hmmm, well, let's see…hard to say because if this damn war's not on my mind, you are. Ah, screw it, let's have a toast to us. I never want you to leave my heart again."

"And should we fall, may we fall together and not be a second apart from heaven."

Ashley snickered and said, "Ok, here's to us!" and with that, Shepard and Ashley clanked their glasses and quickly gulped down their Aldebaran Whiskey.

"Quite a drink Shepard. What's the word for it…umm…oh, acquired! That's how it tastes."

"Really? That's a new one. Never thought tastes could be acquired to you."

"Oh, stop it, you!" Ashley playfully shoved Shepard and both of them quickly shared a kiss before eating their noodles. Around half an hour passed between eating noodles, trying out different sips of Shepard's alcohol, using the extranet, and using the bathroom before Shepard came up with a crazy idea that involved Ashley and a tank full of water.

"You know, I never had any fish in this tank ever since they locked me up all those months ago. I also haven't had a good swim in a long time. Care to go skinny-dipping with me?"

Ashley nearly lost herself, but quickly responded,

"You want me, to go skinny-dipping, in a fish-tank that used to have fish, with you?

"Well it's either that or we go back to earth and take on the Reapers."

Shepard looked at Ashley teasingly, to which Ashley finally pulled her doubts together and said with a bit of frustration, "Fine. But if that water's cold or nasty, im grabbing my gear."

After getting some towels, Shepard and Ashley went to the side of the fish tank, up the ladder leading to the top of the fish tank, and stripped off their underwear. As soon as Ashley slipped out of her bra and panties, Shepard took a renegade action by grabbing Ashley and jumping in the pool with her. She managed to let out a scream before plunging into the water. As the water was nice and warm, with no nasty growth or smell inside the talk, Ashley's mood went from uncertain to scared and then playful, and as soon as both of them surfaced, Ashley said,

"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be? Your gonna drown commander, im the stronger spectre and you know it!"

"Try all you want!" and at that point, Shepard and Ashley playfully tried to keep each other underwater the longest, without actually drowning each other. For 20 minutes, both of them splashed and wrestled wildly in the tank, getting gasps of air and the occasional laugh in when they surfaced. The playful contest they had was close, but in the end, Shepard knew he stayed underwater less than Ashley, even when she said,

"Ok, why don't we call it a draw for another day? I think we need a bigger tank to do this."

"Tired already, Ash? Come on, weren't you going to drown me in this tank?"

Ashley laughed and said, "Joker or EDI could call us down and we'd still be fighting in this tank. You really want to push it that far?"

Shepard dared to make a renegade move towards Ashley by saying, "No, but I will push this!" and at that moment, penetrated her in the pool, causing Ashley to gasp and immediately grip the edge of the fish to stay afloat. The action, and the pleasurable feeling she got, completely took her by surprise. Ashley couldn't believe that Shepard was having sex with her in a fish tank, but she thought of it less as a fish tank and more as a pool. She could have fought against it, but decided to go with the flow and let Shepard take the lead on this one. For 40 minutes, Shepard and Ashley had probably the best sex they ever had up to this point, and couldn't believe they never thought to have sex in a pool of some sort sooner. Between the usual fucking, as well as brief handjobs, a titfuck and even an oral from Ashley, Ashley and Shepard both managed to climax three times each, and at one point, both of them climaxed underwater. It was just as intense as wrestling in the pool, and by the time they were done, they were out of breath, and could barely stay afloat. Both of them eventually climbed out of the tank, and Ashley, still out of breath, said,

"That…was…fucking…crazy! Next shore leave…"

"Yeah...I'll book it."

Both of them eventually calmed down and dried themselves off with the towels Shepard brought up, and rather than putting on their underwear, they decided to take a hot, massaging shower to clean themselves off. Shepard and Ashley shared a moderate, compassionate shower, with hardly any thoughts of sex, just love and comfort for each other. They washed themselves off and occasionally massaged one another to relieve the tension they built up in the pool. Shepard wished he had a bottle of strawberry scented soap for Ashley so she could faintly smell of delicious strawberries when she stepped out of the shower, but he brushed it off and realized someday, he'll have the chance to get her a bottle of strawberry soap and much more, preferably on their next shore leave. Shepard and Ashley eventually stepped out of the shower, donned both their underwear as well as some bath robes on, and ended up getting ready for bed by finalizing reports, browsing the extranet, dimming the lights, exc.

Five minutes before Shepard was going to snuggle in bed with Ashley, Ashley came up with a bold idea to reward Shepard. Ashley beckoned,

"Hey skipper, you coming to bed? I've got a goodnight present for you, and a challenge."

"Oh? That so?" Shepard's curiosity caused him to drop the tablet he was working on so he could walk over to Ashley and get in bed if he was tempted. "What have you got?"

"I bet I could make you cum with just my feet. No other clothes off. And I bet I could do it faster than last time, even if just a little. Last time was what, 30 minutes and some seconds? I know I can jerk you off faster than that, and with clothes on!"

"Seriously? Wait, I know your not kidding. But what if you can't finish me off faster?"

"Then shoe shopping is on me. Come on Shepard, do you really want to be reading reports about Garrus's calibrations? Or would you rather pay tribute to my wonderful, sexy feet, like old times?"

"I could never turn down an offer like yours, even if you threatened me as a spectre. I'll gladly pay tribute to you."

Ashley laughed as both of them arranged themselves on the bed so that Ashley could give Shepard a footjob. Ashley started counting down the time as soon as Shepard stopped worshipping her feet (Which felt very soft and smooth after the shower and faintly smelled of the soap she used) and started jerking them off. While Ashley may not be skyclad like she usually is when having sex, she still looked sharp dressed in a N7 bathrobe. For 25 minutes, Ashley tried different positions, different moments, and even used her own spit as lube in the hopes of breaking Shepard and winning her bet. During this time, she wasn't so sure if he would involuntarily surrender himself to her, but after the 25 minutes, he could sense his resistances falling apart. She was tired, and so was Shepard, but she had to stroke faster, and with more force. Just when she was about to slow down and eventually give up, 3 minutes later, Shepard let out a moan, and Ashley felt the warm presence of cum all over the soles and toes of her feet. She gasped the moment she felt Shepard's cum on her feet and laughed a little as well. Footjobs may not pleasure her as much as traditional fucking, but if it pleases Shepard, it pleases her as well.

"28 minutes and 10 seconds. Ha! I win!"

"So did I, I can't tell you how great it feels to get a footjob."

"God, I never met a guy who cared so much about me, let alone who wants to worship my feet." Ashley then teased, "Do you realize how sweaty my feet get on a mission?"

"The joke's on you. I might have told you I liked your feet, but you thought of the idea of showing up in my quarters, stripping down and saying, 'Alright skipper, ready to clean them up for me?' right after we took down those pirates in the Terminus systems."

Ashley laughed and said, "You would remember that! But you told me about your fetish first, the joke is all on you, footboy. Wow, if word of this gets out to the crew…"

"You wouldn't!" Shepard said with a serious face.

Ashley laughed and said, "I'm just kidding, Shepard. I had you for a moment there though." Ashley smiled as Shepard asked,

"EDI…are you listening to us?"

Surprisingly, EDI replied and said, "Yes, Shepard."

"Just…don't say anything about what we're doing, ok?"

"I am already deleting logs of interactions between you and Ashley in your cabin. I have also stopped Liara from tapping into video feeds in your cabin."

After a brief pause, and with Shepard almost saying 'What!?' in shock, EDI continued, "The latter was a joke."

Shepard, content with what he heard, said, "Thanks, EDI."

Ashley changed the mood by saying, "Well, that's good to know. But seriously, thanks Shepard. You always had your way of pleasing me, whether it's in bed, on the battlefield, or even in a damn fish tank. God, a fish tank of all things…you really have what it takes to stop this war, skipper."

"Fighting a bunch of reapers is different from fighting a rogue spectre."

"Oh nonono, you are not going there. We'll get it done, Shepard. We'll take back earth, and make those reaper bastards pay for screwing with us! And if we have to shoot a few more politicians along the way, or bring more weird-ass aliens into this mess, we'll do it. At least Udina had the courtesy to make me a spectre before he died, rotten bastard."

"If I could, id make you a spectre myself. Not that the council would ever approve, but id do it to make up for all the times the alliance held you back."

"Ha, that's so sweet. I might even think of some payback, you'd be welcome to give me any ideas if you get any. But Shepard, im really tired, there's one more thing I gotta say before I go to bed."

"And that is?"

"Stay alive. That's an order!"

"You too, Ash. Goodnight."

Shepard and Ash kissed each other goodnight then cuddled together, without spooning. For 9 hours, Ash and Shepard slept well, if not the best they've slept in recent memory. The expressions of satisfaction on their faces and the position they cuddled in would woo the crew if they saw it, but this was a moment for Shepard and Ashley only. Neither of them dreamed, but instead were in a form of blissful stasis, seeing only black and barely feeling anything, even each other. Both of them were also fairly still, not tossing or turning like they both did before they started sleeping with each other.


	3. Hearty breakfast

When 9 hours passed, both Shepard and Ashley slowly woke up, stirring slowly and without a care in the world. They had nothing better to do, and EDI was still gathering intel on Rannoch, so their motivation to get up was very limited.

"Morning, Ash. Still alive over there?"

"More like tired. Last night was the best I had in years. I don't wanna get up just yet."

"Still wanna snuggle?"

"You bet, commander."

Shepard and Ashley, intoxicated by each other's body heat as well as the events of yesterday, snuggled closer and went back to sleep. 3 hours had passed, but to them, it felt like another 9 hours. While Ashley was asleep, she dreamed of sitting at a table by herself in a fancy beachfront bar, with very few people inside that she could not even describe if she remembered what they look like. Old music, even by 2100 standards, was playing inside the bar, although despite knowing this, she couldn't make out what the song was. She looked down at the table and saw what little she had left of some kind of drink in a short glass. She didn't know why, but she made a 'ch' noise with her mouth, poured what little was left onto the floor, and then left through the saloon doors into the bright sunlight. Then everything faded to black and Ashley woke up.

Slightly weirded out by her dream, she looked to Shepard and saw that he was still asleep, and still embracing the woman not made of dreams, but of delicate flesh and adamant bones. Ashley wanted to get up and stretch a bit, not to mention get into her routine of checking the extranet for anything she needs to know. Ashley, with extreme care and precision, slipped out of Shepard's cuddle, got up, and stretched her fit body out, letting out a soft and nearly inaudible yawn of pleasure. She then sat down on the couch and checked the extranet for anything she needed to know about. Nothing stood out apart from old news about the war, dumb ads about saving your soul from the reapers, and an empty inbox. Content, she powered off her omni-tool and searched Shepard's fridge for a bite to eat for breakfast. Surprisingly, Shepard had a box half-full of strawberries in his fridge, and decided to finish them off before they started rotting. After rinsing them off in the bathroom, she helped herself to her tasty morsel while watching Shepard sleep. Ashley was still reflecting on her past memories of her and Shepard sharing love; the passionate ones, the silly ones, occasionally the angry ones, but more importantly, the happy ones. When she ate her last strawberry and set the stem back in the box, she realized she had to use the bathroom. She slipped in to do her business, and halfway through, heard music playing in the cabin. She realized Shepard must be awake and up to something, a minute later, she finished up and stepped out to see Shepard sitting on the couch, now in just his N7 boxers, staring at a picture of Ash, then swiped to look at another, and another.

"Well, morning Shep. What the hell are you listening to?"

As Ashley walked down the steps to sit down to Shepard, he replied,

"1983. Sting. Every Breath You Take."

"What, seriously? Damn Shepard, never knew you were THAT old."

Shepard Beckoned, "Come have a seat," But at that moment, the song's lyrics caught her attention, which were,

 _Since you've gone I've been lost without a trace.  
I dream at night, I can only see your face.  
I look around but it's you I can't replace.  
I feel so cold, and I long for your embrace.  
I keep crying baby, baby, please..._

Ashley immediately understood why Shepard played that song and related to the lyrics in her mind. Ashley sat down next to Shepard and looked at the pictures he was looking at. The pictures were mostly just her, but sometimes her and Shepard were in it, and occasionally Ashley would be seen with a squadmate from the Normandy SR-1, such as Tali, Garrus, and even Kaiden. It was a little hard to look at Kaiden ever since he sacrificed himself on Virmire, but time has hardened her and healed all the wounds Kaiden's death left behind. As Shepard was looking through the picture, Ashley asked,

"Remembering the good old days?"

"Some of them. Not all of them were good, mind you. Especially when we had people shooting at us. But the days we spent were definitely good old days."

As Ashley was about to ask a question, the soundtrack changed to 'The End of the World' by Skeeter Davis. After 30 seconds of listening to it and considering it lame, she immediately got up, stopped the soundtrack, getting Shepard's attention, and said,

"Shepard…I'm here with you now. We can reminisce all we want when we go to bed. Isn't now a good time to make more good memories for us?"

"Oh, right." Shepard set his tablet down on the coffee table. "Did you have anything for breakfast?"

"I did, but I know you didn't. How about I make you something for once?"

"I could sure go for some st…"

"Already ate them."

Shepard took pity on himself that he missed finishing his strawberries, but then asked,

"Are there still eggs in the fridge?"

Ashley looked and saw a carton of eggs in the fridge, 8 of which were still whole.

"There sure are, skipper."

"Crack me 3 and nuke em in the egg cooker. It's to the left of the microwave."

"Aye aye, commander." As Ashley was cracking the eggs, putting them in the egg cooker and then putting it in the microwave, Shepard added,

"Could you make me some toast when your done? The bread and butter is in the fridge."

"Sure thing, commander." Ashley had a smile on her face as she prepared Shepard's breakfast. All that was missing was the bacon, and even if there were any, she wouldn't cook it unless Shepard asked her to. As she was waiting for the eggs to cook so she could toast the bread, Ashley realized Shepard would need something to drink and asked,

"Do you want something to drink, commander?"

"Get me the vial of green juice on the left side of the fridge."

"Green. Yeah. Did I ever tell you that green is your favorite color?"

"No. And if it was, id probably paint it on my armor."

Ashley sneered and said, "Alright hero-man, your eggs are done, just gotta toast and butter your bread." As she handed Shepard his juice, she went back to finish his breakfast, then served it after toasting and buttering his bread as well as lightly salting his eggs. His breakfast teased her appetite, but unless he ordered her to cook bacon as well, she would stay content with the strawberries she ate earlier. As she laid the plate and fork on the table, she gave Shepard a quick kiss on the cheek, which he returned, and sat next to him as he ate his breakfast. Only a minute passed when she realized Shepard had completely devoured his delicious breakfast.

"Wow. Hungry?"

"Not anymore. I forgot how well you butter my bread. Haven't had anything like that in years."

Ashley giggled and said, "Really Shepard? You haven't tasted anything yet till you've had my bacon."

"Which kind? The ass or the belly?"

Ashley rolled her eyes and replied, "Ch. I'm not even gonna say it."

"Fine. Then im not gonna say it either."

"Say what?"

"If your not gonna say it, im not. Why bother?"

"Whatever."

Ashley swept up Shepard's now-empty breakfast and squared it all away by his desk. Now was as good of a time as any for Ashley and Shepard to make good memories with each other. When Ashley went to sit back with Shepard, Shepard said,

"You know Ash, there's an emergency shaft in the front of my cabin under the crawlspace. If your up to it, I was thinking we could take a walk outside the Normandy."

Ashley snickered and replied, "Wow, you come up with the craziest ideas Shepard. A spacewalk on the Normandy? Really? If your serious, you better gear up though, boxers aren't gonna do the trick."

"Oh im serious. You better gear up too, a bathrobe and some underwear won't keep you alive in space."

"And we gotta have magboots, because im not floating away and suffocating to death like you did."

"Your right. Grab your gear. We'll take our walk once we're ready."


	4. Believing is seeing

Ashley dressed up, put on her armor, then went below to grab her helmet and her magboots. Shepard geared up in his cabin, and also modded his armor with space thrusters, in case he needed to maneuver around or wanted to surprise Ash by literately sweeping her off her feet. Ashley arrived a few minutes after Shepard was ready, being donned completely in armor and ready to walk out into space.

"Looking good skipper. So where's this hatch of yours?"

"It's deep in the front. I hope you like tight spaces."

As Shepard and Ashley climbed over the bed and into the crawlspace behind the bed, Ashley replied, "We talking skin-tight?"

"A little bigger than that."

"Oh, good. Wiggle room is always nice."

Shepard and Ashley crawled in the tight space, with Shepard leading, and found the hatch. As Shepard was about to grab the hatch, EDI interrupted with,

"Safety protocols prohibit the use of emergency exits while there is no emergency."

Shepard managed to say "EDI…" before EDI continued,

"In addition, this space will be vented should the hatch be opened. You space hamster may survive if it is only open a few seconds, but even if he does survive, your cabin will be a mess should it be depressurized."

Ashley cut in with a renegade interrupt by saying, "And YOU'RE cleaning it up, Shepard."

Shepard, in disbelief of the reactions of his crew, got over it and asked, "Before you override the safety protocols EDI, can you open the hatch once we're out?"

"Yes, Shepard. Simply signal me when you are ready and I will depressurize the chamber so you can get in again."

"Alright EDI. Override the safety protocols and open the hatch."

"Very well, Shepard. The consequences are yours."

At that moment, the hatch made a sound, the handle automatically turned, and a blast of air emptied out of the Normandy as the cabin was now exposed to space. Ashley and Shepard quickly engaged their mag boots, got out of the cabin, and closed the hatch so that the cabin could pressurize again.

As they looked up and away from the Normandy, the sight was breathtaking. Both of them saw the stars without a window in their way; somehow, it seemed, being out here in space was better than watching it through a window. The stars glistened and were many different colors; white, light blue, light red, orange, purple, maroon, some even flashed different colors. Shepard and Ashley held each other's hand as they continued looking out into the vastness of space. They could barely make out several distant planets and moons by the way they were shaded, yet one planet glowed as bright as the moon on earth, having a light purple appearance to it's beautiful aura. The sun, far away, was bright enough that they could not look directly at it without burning their eyes, even with their shielded visors. Sound was greatly muffled, the only thing they could hear was of themselves breathing, any chatter they would say on the radio, and the faint sound of their mag boots clinging to the Normandy's surface. Their senses could only take in so much; space was much more lively in person than it did anywhere else.

Shepard and Ashley, still hand in hand, began their spacewalk by walking to the front of the Normandy. Both of them were speechless as they observed what space offered in terms of sight. Their attention was divided between space and the Normandy; both were beautiful and stunning, yet it seemed both of them were fighting for each other's attention. Ashley caught a flash of a shooting star and exclaimed "Whoh!" as she caught both the flash and the intense color of the star.

Shepard replied, "That one took me by surprise too."

Continuing their walk, they finally arrived at the front of the Normandy. If the Normandy didn't catch their attention, the sun did, and with how bright it was, they had to keep their heads at a angle so that they could see. Shepard then came up with an idea.

"Hey Ash, I think it's time Joker got a taste of his own medicine. Follow me, and stomp as loud as you can."

Ashley laughed and replied, "If you say so."

Shepard and Ashley stepped down in between where the Normandy's windshields were, and stomped as loud as they could towards the front. In doing so, they awoke Joker from a brief nap, causing him to scream, fall out of his seat and experience pain in the process as he exclaimed, "What the?" from all the shaking and stomping made. Believing there to be intruders outside the ship, Joker was about to radio Shepard and a security them when Shepard suddenly and quickly jumped off the Normandy into full view of one of the windshields. Joker screamed, then a split-second later, realized it was Shepard, and after tapping into his communications, replied,

"Yeah, ha-ha, very funny smartass. My ass is probably broke now, thanks to you. If I didn't fall back you can bet I would have jumped to FTL and warped your asses to dust."

Shepard used his thrusters to land back on the Normandy and replied, "Good morning, Joker."

"Ugggh, yeah, morning, thanks for making sure im not dead, because I feel like shit now." Joker slowly got up and sat back in his seat, waving his middle finger at where he believed Shepard was. Luckily for both of them, Shepard did not see his gesture. As Ashley walked over to where Shepard was, Joker continued,

"How'd you get out here anyways? I would've known if you got out through the shuttle bay."

"I didn't. And im not telling you now," Shepard replied.

"Wiseass."

Content with giving Joker a taste of his own medicine, Shepard continued with Ashley on their spacewalk. Ashley was somewhat excited after Shepard scared joker, so there was no need for them to hold hands at the moment. Shepard and Ashley walked away from the sun and towards the right wing so they could get a good view of both the Normandy and space. Because the cabin was before the cockpit, they had not only a good view of the Normandy, but also a good walk to the other side of space they did not see. As they walked, they looked up and caught eye of a green nebula, it's shape shifting, and it's glow ebbing. Some Asteroids were to the left of the Nebula, spinning in place at a fast rate of speed. There were also a few planets brightly lit by the sun.

"Wow!" Ashley let out as she began to take in the sight, "I totally don't do spacewalks enough if im taking in the sights."

"The last time I took a trip into space, I…"

"It must have been hard. I'm sorry Shep. Really."

Shepard and Ashley stopped to look at each other.

"It's fine, Ash."

"Was it this beautiful before you…you know?"

"No. It was bad. All I saw was the Normandy explode around me. What I felt was what hurt the most. I hoped all of you would make it when you hit the escape pods. Joker was the last one I helped, and I wondered if he ever made it. I lost the Normandy. It hurt. But losing myself hurt the worst. The pain of depressurization, suffocation, losing friends, losing you…it all went to black after that."

"Oh my god…" Ashley reacted in shock, then brought out the paragon in her to try comforting Shepard. "You're here now, Shepard. I can't tell you how better I am that your back. I hate Cerberus for all the shit they've done, and still do today."

"Me too, Ash. Bringing me back was the only thing they did right, and it still isn't enough to justify their dirty deeds."

"Cerberus almost turned us against each other."

"They did, and more than once. But im glad you held on even through all that, Ash. It takes a special kind of endurance to handle that."

"God…just thinking about it…"

Shepard used a paragon interrupt and cut in, "You're here now, Ash. You don't have to think about it. You made it through."

"Yeah, your right."

Shepard and Ashley continued their spacewalk, walking down the full length of the right wing and then traveled towards the back of the ship. As they walked, Ashley said,

"I wish I could've walked on the SR-1, before that got blown to hell. Bet it would've been a better walk."

"Oh? How so?"

"Less angles, a better feeling of drift, and the fact that it's the ship we kicked so much ass on."

"How would you know about the drift?"

"Smaller ship."

"I'm not too convinced, but if you say so…"

"Just shut up and believe me, Shepard."

"Did you know about the Normandy SR-1 memorial?"

"No, I never knew they made a memorial, what is it?"

"They made the crash site of the Normandy SR-1 a memorial site. I actually went there to do some clean-up, and to place a statue on the spot. You probably know most of us made it. But a few didn't."

"Yeah. There were a few others who didn't make it before all that happened."

"I know. I think of them too. I think we both had others who didn't make it that we don't know about."

Ashley redirected him by asking, "So is the memorial right where the Normandy crashed?"

"Yup, right where it crashed on Alchera. Pretty damn cold if you go down there."

"We, Shepard."

"Right. We'll go there someday. Come to think of it, I wonder what's left of our quarters."

"'Our' quarters?"

Shepard and Ashley stopped as they approached the edge of the rear of the ship. "Well, technically, it was the CO's quarters, but honestly, with all the time we spent back on the Normandy, they were yours too. Remember those nights?"

"I thought of them yesterday. And im thinking of them now, since you mentioned it."

"We had some nice nights. But Ash, I've been thinking…what if the council and Alliance actually sent us against the Reapers instead of stopping pirates? Would you regret missing those extra nights we had?"

"What? Honestly, I don't know. That's a lot of think about, Shepard."

"Yeah, some of it is. But…now that I think about it, maybe I made a mistake. Every night I spend with you is always amazing. I don't think I could ever get enough, whether we chased the reapers or not."

Ashley used her renegade side to try and boost Shepard by explaining, "Shepard, I…what's done is done. We can think about this all we want when the war's over, but I don't regret all the nights we spent, whether or not the council would actually kiss our ass and send us to fight the reapers."

"I don't either. My only regret is…"

"What?"

"I never introduced you to my mother."

"Oh, Shepard…" Ashley's renegade mood changed back as she listened to Shepard.

"She's all I got left. But she's still alive."

Ashley perked up as she heard the good news. "I remember what you told me. She still serving on the same ship?"

"No, it was shot down on Earth. She survived though. I heard she's working on the crucible."

"Glad to hear it. Sounds like we got one more reason to win this war."

"We do. Comeon, we haven't seen all the Normandy's offered us."

Shepard and Ashley continued their walk to the left wing of the ship, which was somewhat marred by the merciless rays of the sun. Their attention was a little more towards the Normandy than space, but both offered excellent views. The plating was a little rough throughout their walk on the Normandy, mostly because of the damage sustained during Shepard's suicide mission as well as the retrofits and finally the brief skirmishes they've had with other ships, but here, towards the left side, it was more smooth. Shepard wondered if Joker told the whole crew yet about how he scared him, but knows he'll spill the beans sooner or later. Ashley looked up and didn't see much that was different in space, but it was still fascinating to look at. As she looked up, she saw a faint blue glow in the sky, and wondered if it was the Mass Relay they took to get here or if it was just a star. They finally arrived at the edge of the left wing, and stood there for a couple of moments. Shepard leaned into Ashley as they observed into space. A few moments later, Shepard gently took Ashley's hand into his own and said,

"Might as well walk on the bottom of the Normandy while we're at it."

"Hope it doesn't throw my balance off too much."

As Ashley and Shepard walked towards the edge of the wing, Shepard took a weird step and planted his foot on the bottom of the Normandy. Ashley did the same, but unlike Shepard, she was a bit disoriented. "Well, that wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be," Ashley replied. She shook off her disorientation after a few steps as both of them walked towards the belly of the Normandy. As they looked up, they got a better view of space because the Normandy was shielding them from the sunlight. The stars looked slightly better, some of the planets were really bright, and off to Ashley's side, she confirmed that what she saw earlier was indeed the mass effect relay they took. There was very little new on this side of space, however. The Normandy was a bit rough to walk on from this side because there seemed to be more damage underneath than above the Normandy. As Shepard and Ashley were walking underneath the Normandy, Ashley said,

" _Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined,_

 _The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life?_ "

Shepard thought for a moment and replied,

"Umm… _That you are here—that life exists and identity,_

 _That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse._ "

Ashley, surprised at his deep knowledge of Walt Whitman, rewarded Shepard by saying,

" _Of a youth who loves me and whom I love, silently approaching and seating himself near, that he may hold me by the hand,  
A long while amid the noises of coming and going, of drinking and oath and smutty jest,  
There we two, content, happy in being together, speaking little, perhaps not a word._"

Shepard and Ashley continued their spacewalk underneath the Normandy, but decided to just walk where their whims took them. 2 hours had passed since they were out enjoying their spacewalk. Shepard eventually asked if Ashley wanted to go back onboard, and agreed. They walked back up to the top of the ship, forgetting about how annoying the sun is, eventually found the hatch they came out of, and signaled EDI to open the hatch. As the hatch opened, they quickly went in, switched off their mag boots, and closed the hatch to allow the cabin to pressurize. As Shepard and Ashley crawled forward to get back into the cabin, the sight that Shepard caught next was not pretty.


	5. Encounters in the ship

"Arrrgh! EDI wasn't kidding when she said this place was a mess."

As Shepard and Ashley clambered down onto the floor, now a total mess, Ashley revealed her renegade side as she laughed at Shepard and said,

"This mess is just for you, Skipper. Hope you enjoy cleaning this mess up." Ashley took off her helmet, as did Shepard, and Ashley continued, "Tell you what, im gonna head back down, get something to eat, check my gear, and get some reps in while you clean up this mess. I'll check back in a little later." Ash had a coy expression on her face as she slowly walked away towards Shepard and through the horrible mess of a floor. Before she walked out of the cabin door, she turned around to Shepard and said,

"Thanks, Shepard. For the Normandy. And space."

"We made memories, Ash. And we'll make more."

"We sure will, skipper."

Ashley then left the cabin to go down to the third floor. She went into her quarters, undid her armor into her casual uniform, and briefly checked her gear to ensure she didn't miss anything or that any of her gear was tampered with. After being content with her check, she did a good repetition of stretches, crunches, push-ups, a 2 minute plank, and finished off with jumping jacks. She took a few minutes to cool off before getting something to eat in the mess hall. The food was a bit above average this time, normally the food is 'average' because of being N7, so Ashley took it in stride and had a delicious meal. As she was eating her meal, Javik stepped in and saw Ash. Wanting to talk with her, Javik walked towards her and said,

"Huma…Ash."

"Javik. Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I was disoriented for a moment. The commander's presence is strong on you."

"Oh, right, I forgot…kinda hard to wrap my head around how you see things."

"I don't see how any of you can fight with two eyes."

"I meant the whole 'sense a presence' thing. And how you can perceive things by touch."

"You would have to be prothean to truly understand."

"Guess so. So what did you mean by sensing the commander's presence on me?"

"His pheromones and…scent are on you."

"You mean you can smell it?"

"You smell things by how your nose perceives them. I smell things by the energy it radiates. Right now, I can sense the commander's presence is strong all over you. It is slightly stronger below your knees."

Ashley tried to dismiss some of his thoughts by saying, "Yeah, well, kinda strange how that works."

"To you. Not to me."

"So if you can sense the commander on me, is there anything else about him you can sense?"

Javik concentrated for a moment by closing his eyes, then opened them and said, "It is obvious you two are joined. He has joined with you because not only can he give you the fire you need to fight, but you also give him the fire he needs to fight. It is a weakness both of you share."

Ashley tried to brush him off by saying, "Figures. I'm sure in your cycle, you'd execute people who loved each other."

"We did. We could have left them behind, but that would only make them servants of the reapers. At least we showed mercy and gave them a quick death."

Ashley got slightly angry and with a renegade attitude, asked, "But what about the people who wanted to have kids, and who wanted to have a family? Why kill them?"

"Because we had limited resources. We could not afford to stop and raise even a single child. We could not afford to spend time having pleasure, and each day, people died, or turned into servants of the reapers. One moment, you could be standing side by side with someone you called a friend, and the next, he could be trying to slit your throat, or he could be killed by another reaper. Thinking like that would have ensured not a single prothean would be alive today. I may be all that's left, but were it not for me, this cycle would not benefit from my skills or expertise."

Ashley calmed down a bit and said, "Don't think I could see myself doing everything you did to survive. Doesn't mean im not willing to take some risks though. I was born with the alliance, and now im a spectre. I may not know sacrifice like you do, but I've sacrificed quite a bit to get to where I am, and if I have to give up more, I dare anyone to try and take it away from me."

"Fancy titles will not prevent you from sacrificing parts of your life. But when the time comes, you will know the best decision to make. For your sake, I hope you do not hesitate to sacrifice what you need to win this war."

"And that is?"

"Everything." Javik walked away, leaving Ashley to ponder his words. It is true that Ashley wouldn't give up everything to win this war; the commander, herself, their families, all of that and a little more was just too much to give up. She wouldn't be ready to sacrifice everything if it meant winning this war. But she didn't believe she had to sacrifice everything. She believed she could tag with Shepard and win this war without losing their lives. She believed Javik didn't know a thing about love, and didn't know whether to pity him or be angry at him for his lack of knowledge about love. Shepard was doing so many things right so far, and believed he could win the war with her by his side. It could work out. All they needed to do was not only try, but get positive results.

While Ashley was finishing her meal on Deck 3, Shepard was in his cabin, dressed in his alliance casuals, tidying up the mess he made earlier. The bed was now properly made, the majority of containers on the floor were cleaned up and stacked in the right places, all of the broken glasses were thrown away, all of his ships were stacked in their right places, things that fell off the tables were now back as they were, the furniture was properly rearranged, and he was relieved to find his space hamster still alive. Shepard was busy calibrating a Mantis sniper rifle on his desk that was fixing in his cabin when a knock was heard on his door. Putting the rifle down, he walked up to answer whoever was at the door, and much to his surprise, found James.

"Hey commander. Got a minute?"

"I'm not too busy James. What do you need?"

As Shepard allowed James to walk in, James said, "Well, I was kinda thinking of something, and wanted your opinion on it."

"Another thing? Well, it's been slow around here, so I understand. What're you thinking?"

"Well, it's about women, like Ash." James briefly put up his hands in submission as he continued, "Now, don't get me wrong, I know you two got a fire going on, and I want noooo part of it." James put his hands down and finished, "But, a girl like her…where do I find someone like that?"

As Shepard worked on calibrating his rifle, he replied, "James, you gotta know what you like first before you can take those kind of risks."

"I know. Don't get me wrong, I love strong girls. Someone I can go out to the beach with, play volleyball, and do a whole lot more all night long, just like me." James calmed down a bit before finishing, "But…where do I start?"

"For you, id try mercenary groups. You'd be hard pressed to get a girl there, though."

"Why's that?"

"Women always play tough, especially when they're out to kill for credits."

James was a little confused as he asked, "Why not the alliance? Or here?"

"James," Shepard facepalmed himself before turning towards James and continuing, "You know how alliance regulations are against fraternization. I'm a spectre, so I'm the exception to their rule. And I don't want to make everyone my exception. Ash is a spectre too, and she also doesn't make exceptions for everyone."

"So I take it Liara is out too?"

Shepard focused his attention on his rifle before continuing, "Yeah. There's nothing I can do for you James."

After a brief pause, James continued, "You know…it's bullshit. For all of us."

Shepard became agitated as he replied, "I get it. And I don't care James."

"Why? Because putting me and the crew down makes you feel better? That's bullshit!"

Shepard slammed a fist against his desk and yelled, "NO!"

James reacted in shock, then Shepard unleashed a renegade action by yelling, "NOOOOOO!" grabbed his mantis sniper rifle and smashed it into the glass display holding up his ships, causing a loud crash of glass to sound throughout the cabin. Most of the display was shattered as glass shards were strewn all over the floor and most of the ships fell off, mixing in with the glass. Shepard looked down at his desk and realized another mess was made of his own doing. After a few moments, his anger calmed down most of the way, and James, still standing in shock, paid close attention to Shepard as he said,

 _"_ _I am aware  
How many days have been idly spent;  
How like an arrow the good intent  
Has fallen short or been turned aside._"

As Shepard slowly turned towards James, and James began thinking of the meaning of this poem, Shepard continued,

" _But who shall dare  
To measure loss and gain in this wise?  
Defeat may be victory in disguise;  
The lowest ebb is the turn of the tide._"

James, still in shock, though not as much, replied,

"Wow, I…never knew you were into poems. Who's that from?"

"Henry Longfellow."

"His name rings a bell. I like it." James took a deep breath before apologizing, "Look Shepard…I'm sorry for what I said. I know I got some problems I gotta sort out on my own, and not everyone can help me. But let me help you. I made this mess, and I don't wanna leave you hangin."

"Alright, James." Shepard looked over to him and commanded, "You wanna make yourself useful, grab a broom and dustpan." Shepard walked away from his desk so that James could grab a broom and dustpan to clean up the mess all over his cabin, and so he could wheel over a garbage bin to throw out the broken glass. When Shepard wheeled the bin over, he went to pick up his ships strewn amongst the glass, and realized one of his ships was broken. As Shepard picked up its pieces, James said,

"The Destiny Ascension. I heard more about that ship than the citadel sometimes. I saw it a few times, wish I could've been on it."

As Shepard set the pieces aside and went to put away the other ships on the floor, he replied, "It was a nice ship. I was on it once. Damn thing was bigger than it looks. Never got to finish the tour."

"Was it better than any of our cruisers you've been on?"

"They knew how to style a ship, but if they knew how to command it…maybe it would still be around."

"Maybe. Who's to say with Sovereign though? Look, just send me the bill for that ship, I got it covered."

"Next time we stop by the citadel, I will."

"Gracias."

Shepard finished cleaning up his ships, as well as anything else he didn't clean up when the cabin was exposed to space, and a few minutes later, James finished cleaning up all the broken glass scattered all over Shepard's desk, floor, and tables. When James put away the broom and dustpan, James said,

"I should probably go, Shepard. And hey, if there's anything I can do for you, ask. I know I owe you for this."

"Dismissed, Lieutenant."

James saluted Shepard, to which Shepard saluted back. When James left the cabin, Shepard sat down at his desk, looking out the now-broken display and thinking about what just happened. It wasn't easy, dealing with everything from Ash to the Reapers, as well as his crew and the damn council. Why only him? Couldn't someone else step up to the plate and take charge of the reaper threat? Shepard was a leader, but the STG, the Asari, and even the Turians have great military leaders too, and with the council…Shepard convinces himself to forget it. He stood up, went down to his alcohol stash, and pulled out his 'green' whiskey. After uncorking the bottle, he stared at it for a moment before taking a long, pleasurable drink from it. One minute later, his half-full bottle of whiskey was now empty, and Shepard felt good, without sleepiness, very little drowsiness and very little stupor. He was ready to end the day well, he just needed to know how.


	6. Grand moments spent together

Shepard lost track of time as he thought of the ways to end the day well. Almost all of them involved Ash, some form of sex with her, and ways to make both of them happy. The thoughts were teasing him, even as he harbored them in his mind for months, if not years.

"Hey skipper. Place looks different. You doing alright?"

Shepard snapped out of his thoughts as he focused on Ash and said, "Had to get something to drink after dealing with this mess."

"Uh-huh." Ash walked over to Shepard and sat down next to him. "Man, I could use a drink too." Ashley went into Shepard's stash and took some dark-blue champagne out. As she poured a glass for herself, Ashley motioned if Shepard wanted a drink, and after accepting, poured him a glass as well. They toasted and had a nice drink. As Ashley was finishing her drink, she asked,

"Hey, that wasn't broken when we came back in, was it?" Ashley gestured towards the broken display glass that was by Shepard's desk. Shepard replied,

"I…lost my temper. James's fault. His sorry ass cleaned it up."

"Wow, what a dick. I'd make him do more than that if it was me."

"He will. He knows it and he doesn't know it."

"My kind of thinking." Ashley giggled as Shepard leaned in to give her a quick kiss on the lips.

Ashley asked, "Got any plans for tonight, hero-man?"

"Why don't we try something different? I loved how wild and energetic our fun was yesterday, let's try something relaxing today. I was thinking we could watch a vid in bed. Drama, actually."

"Don't you have enough drama here?"

"I do. Some drama is more bearable than others. And funny, too."

"Ok…so what is it?"

"Ever hear of Grunts?"

"Ummm..."

"It's about guys like C-Sec busting people for stupid things. Most of the time, they talk about how stupid people are, but sometimes security slips up, and when they do, you know what happens…"

"Seriously? We're going to watch a bunch of morons get their asses handed to each other?"

"Well, unless you got a better idea…"

"Screw it, im in."

"We'll need popcorn and drinks for this…"

"Hell yeah, Shepard."

As Shepard went to bake some popcorn, he was unaware that Ashley stripped down to her underwear as she laid under the covers, waiting for Shepard, a movie, some popcorn, and more alcohol. Shepard heated up 2 bags of popcorn, put it in a huge bowl for them to share, and braught it to Ashley. As he gave the bowl to Ashley, Shepard noticed she stripped down and said,

"Hell-oooo, what am I missing out on here?"

Ashley giggled and said, "Shut up and get in bed."

"One moment, I gotta get us something to drink."

Not wanting to take chances on not getting the good stuff, Shepard decided to mix things up and bring all of his alcohol alongside his bed once he handed Ashley the bowl of popcorn. As Shepard took his armful of Alcohol to his bed, Ashley replied,

"If we're gonna drink all that, I better wake up by you and not on the floor."

"You will." As Shepard set all the bottles of alcohol by the head of the bed for easy access, he realized he had one more thing to do. As soon as the last bottle was set, Shepard flung his shirt off and quickly jumped out of his pants so he could share his skin and sexy boxers with Ashley.

"Wow, quite a show your putting on, Shepard."

"You ain't seen anything yet." Shepard quickly went under the covers with Ashley to feel her nice, warm body under the covers. Both of them enjoyed the feeling they shared and if they weren't intoxicated from the alcohol, they were intoxicated from their touch. Both of them watched 'Grunts' and got a real kick out of watching security beating up criminals and the occasional criminal taking on security.

"Seriously? He was right there, how did you miss him!" Ashley exclaimed as an human criminal gave C-Sec the slip by taking an elevator.

"Aw, come on, even Conrad could've kicked his ass!" Shepard exclaimed as a Volus beat up a Turian patrol officer.

"Seriously, even my sisters wouldn't try that." Ashley said in disbelief as a group of Salarians was arrested for selling illegal mods in public.

"What is this, high school? Krogan Testicles never sell for that low," Shepard stated as a STG agent and his men arrested two krogan for trying to buy implants.

Surprisingly, Shepard appeared at one point in the movie. As soon as he appeared, both of them reacted in different ways.

"Oh god, do I have to look at this again?" Shepard said as he facepalmed himself.

"What!?" Ashley exclaimed as she sat up and looked closer at the vid, "Your in this too? Ha, this has gotta be good!"

Khalisah al-Jilani was seen bugging Shepard for an interview, asking about the Destiny Ascension; Ashley quickly realized who she was and said,

"Her? Again? What's she up to?"

Then, on the vid, Shepard said, "I've had enough of your disingenuous assertions," and as soon as Shepard punched her square in the face, Ashley reacted,

"Ha! Bitch deserved it!"

The segment mentioned how C-Sec was called after this incident and that they could find no trace of a man named 'Shepard' or a motive to the assault. Ashley noted,

"I wish you did that the first time. Everyone in my family would get a thrill to see you do that."

"I can't believe this is the first your hearing of it. I thought everyone on the Normandy..."

Ashley made a renegade interrupt and said, "Wait, shut up, there's more!"

A scene showed Shepard confronting Khalisah al-Jilani again, this time with security footage from C-Sec in addition to the news reporter's camera. As Khalisah was berating Shepard about running away while the Reapers attacked earth, Shepard mouthed, "I've had enough of your tabloid journalism," and tried to punch the news reporter, only for her to duck and avoid the blow. Just as she was about to strike back, Shepard grabbed her head, headbutted her and watched as she flew back into a sign and slowly fell down.

"Your getting a little slow, Shepard. She almost had you." Ashley teased.

"Yeah, yeah, lucky miss."

The segment talked about how they believed C-Sec turned a blind eye to this incident and that several officers under Commander Bailey's command were investigated, none of whom were fired because they believed C-Sec had a grudge against reporters. They mentioned that this man was very dangerous, was targeting female news reporters, and that if anyone were to see him, they should not confront him and should call C-Sec immediately, contradicting their beliefs.

"Yeah, like they can get there before the pizza guy does. How the hell do they not know who you sure? Either C-Sec is really dumb or someone's covering for your actions."

"Probably both. I don't know who though."

Ashley rolled her eyes and said, "Uh-huh. Sure you don't."

The movie continued on, showing more criminals doing stupid things and a human officer pulling off a hilariously bad sting. A few seconds after she sold them illegal goods, they had disappeared around a corner before she realized she had to arrest them, and when she ran around the corner, they were nowhere to be found, even after she called for backup.

"UN-BE-LIEVABLE!" exclaimed Ashley, "I wish they did more than fire her ass."

"Put her in general population?"

"Nah, put her in solitary for a few months, and leave the lights off."

"Brutal. I like that."

The movie finally ended, with Shepard and Ashley quite excited with how the whole movie turned out. They were in high spirits, and they surprisingly were not overly drunk, despite all the bottles of alcohol Shepard braught to her bed. Between them, they probably drank no more than 1 whole bottle worth of alcohol, and while they could have drank much more alcohol and passed out drunk in the middle of the movie, they didn't. Shepard decided to do one more thing before wrapping up the night on a positive note.

"Ash," Shepard said as he looked towards Ashley, "Have you heard of a poet named Mary Fye?"

"Doesn't ring a bell?"

"Really? I thought you heard of them all. I wanted to tell you one of her poems. I actually wanted to say it back on Horizon, but things didn't go well. Wanna hear it?"

"Sure."

" _Do not stand at my grave and weep  
I am not there. I do not reap.  
I am a thousand winds that blow.  
I am the diamond glints on snow.  
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.  
I am the gentle autumn rain._"

Ashley held back tears in her eyes while Shepard continued,

" _When you awaken in the morning's hush  
I am the swift uplifting rush  
Of quiet birds in circled flight.  
I am the soft stars that shine at night.  
Do not stand at my grave and cry;  
I am not there. I did not die._"

Ashley truly and valiantly tried to avoid what she was feeling, using all of her training, all of her instinct, and all of her fortitude, but that was not enough. Tears flowed from her eyes as she cried, for perhaps the first time in 2 years, as Shepard finished the poem. Shepard did not need or have any more words for Ash, and Ash could not use words to describe how blessed she truly is to have Shepard back in her life.

Neither of them held back as they fully embraced and kissed each other, softly, passionately, smoothly, and with tears. Shepard gave in and sacrified tears for Ashley, knowing that the road ahead would not be easy, but that in the end, it would be worth it, and they would do it together. Ashley saw Shepard's tears, and tightened her grip on him both with her arms and with her lips. They couldn't count the actual minutes that passed, but it was longer than several days' worth of kisses in a row. Shepard massaged his fingers up and down Ashley's back as she rubbed his upper back and the back of his head while they were kissing. They were heated, but passionate, in their kissing.

They had nor needed no other words for their night, just earthly moans and groans of pleasure. After stripping off their underwear, Shepard decided to reward Ashley first by fucking her slowly at first, then faster, than slower to catch her breath, than faster so she could finish with an orgasm that could probably be heard all over the Normandy, even without intervention from EDI or wiretapping from any of the crew. Shepard saved his libido so that Ashley's first orgasm would also be his; the rounds he had with Ashley many times before enabled more control over his body's ability to orgasm. It was strange how out of all the many times they had sex, including the times on the SR-1, this moment was the best both of them ever shared, even better than their sex in the fish tank.

Ashley decided to reward Shepard with the jobs of his choice. Shepard started by giving Ashley a boob job, than a foot job, then gave her a facial, where he climaxed, back to a boob job, where Ashley climaxed, than a foot job, and then finally finished by fucking her, where he sacrificed the last drops of his semen inside her. Shepard was exhausted by the time he fucked her for a second time, and wanted to fall asleep on top of her with him still inside her, but managed to stay awake until his last push of sperm made it inside her. Ashley was exhausted from having to position herself over and over again as Shepard went from top of bottom then back up and back down; she was relieved when he finally gave the last of his energy to her. They both collapsed to sleep from pleasure, exhaustion, and from the alcohol that wasn't filtered out of their bloodstream.


	7. Sunrise

Shepard gently woke up and looked at his clock to see how much time had passed. Unfortunately, he didn't remember exactly when they stopped watching the movie, but he remembered when they started, and he guessed that a little over 12 hours had passed between then and now. Ashley was sound asleep around his arms, snoring slightly but in a cute fashion. Because he did not see the ship in FTL or heard from any of the crew about the recon being complete, Shepard had no reason to get out of bed yet.

Shepard noticed that there were some tablets he left on the side of the table from yesterday's cleanup, and carefully picked up a tablet without disturbing Ash or taking his body heat away from her. He looked through the tablet and went down memory lane once again as he saw pictures of their past. The majority of memories were pictures, some on the Normandy, some on the citadel, some even at exotic locations, such as a beach on Nevos. Ensuring that Ashley remained asleep, Shepard unlocked a hidden data file on the tablet to look at pictures of Ashley all fleshed out. He had pictures of every inch of Ash everywhere, and as he looked from her toes to her head and all in-between, he stopped. He exited the hidden files and blacked out his tablet, realizing that while the pictures are nice, the experiences he shared with Ash fortified his resolve. Shepard had successfully shared his dirty secrets with Ash, satisfied every fantasy that he could think of with Ash, and did so much beyond his expectations that he would do better to relive these moments in his mind. The smell of her feet, the sound of her breath, the feeling of her insides, the taste of her breasts, and the look of her facial expressions all combined to give Shepard memories and fantasies that were better than looking at a picture.

Shepard thought about the war, and was confident enough that he would try and win this war, and confident enough to believe that if he and Ash were going to die, it would be together and at once. He knew it would not be easy, and he knew that there would be more sacrifices to make, but he had to try and he had to get the help he needed to win this war. Shepard decided to lay back down and fall asleep, not wanting to disturb Ash and content with sharing each other in their sleep.

After some time, Shepard awoke to the smell of eggs, toast, and…bacon? He had no idea why he smelled bacon, but he instantly knew Ash was cooking breakfast when he realized she was no longer in bed with him. To his surprise, Ash had already cooked breakfast, and put it on a table tray next to his bed.

"Morning, Shep. I was just about to wake you up, but it looks like the breakfast did. Hmm, smell waking you up…"

"Do I want to know what's going through your head?"

"No Shep, you really don't. Now, eat your breakfast, and you can thank James later for bringing some bacon in, no idea how he got some."

Shepard smirked and said, "He thinks he'll get off easy by bribing me. He has no idea just how much trouble he's in."

"You go get him later, skipper." Ashley pulled up a tray of her own next to Shepard's and sat alongside him in bed as they ate breakfast. Fortunately for Shepard, Ashley had dressed up and put on her casual uniform before cooking breakfast, so the secrets of her flesh were still safe with him. They both enjoyed a wonderful breakfast, and Ashley did not exaggerate when she said Shepard tasted nothing until she had her bacon; it was so good that even 3 platefuls of her bacon wouldn't be enough to sate his appetite. But he had to take it slow and easy, as much as he wanted to scarf it down, because there is truly no way to savor divinely gracious bacon. To his surprise, they both finished breakfast at the same time, and both of them still had room for more breakfast. Shepard did the honors for Ashley and cleaned up their breakfast, squaring away the trays and putting the dishes away to be washed later. As soon as Shepard put away the dishes and walked down the steps, he heard,

"Commander, EDI's all done doing her reconnaissance. I think your gonna want to come down here and check it out for yourself, it's not good." Joker announced to Shepard.

"Alright Joker, im on my way."

As Shepard got dressed and prepared to head down to the war room, he said to Ashley,

"Well, duty calls. I know, same old saying, but we're pros at this, Ash. The crew wouldn't last 5 minutes taking on the reapers without us."

"And you wouldn't last 5 minutes taking them on your own. I'm glad we fight together, Shepard."

"This war couldn't be won without each other and the crew. I'm proud of what they've done so far, and more importantly, I'm proud we're back together and better than ever."

Ashley quickly laughed as she replied, "Oh Shepard, you and your words. You want me to come with you to the CIC?"

"Sure. If EDI found something bad, I'll take all the tactical options I can get."

"Aye aye, commander." Ashley saluted Shepard when he fully dressed himself and both of them walked down to the war room, where the quarian admirals awaited to be briefed by EDI and Shepard about their findings on Rannoch.


End file.
